July 07, 2008

Demand Grows for Farmers' Markets

With
summer officially under way, the 2008 Connecticut Farmers Market season
is yielding a bumper crop of new markets around the state — with more
and more people demanding locally grown products in the face of rising
food prices.

Rick Macsuga, marketing representative for the state Department of
Agriculture, said there has been a significant increase in requests by
towns and cities to offer farmers' markets.

"Town involvement has definitely increased over the years," he said.
"Before, we would kind of have to reach out to towns in order to hold a
farmers' market. But nowadays, more towns have been reaching out to us
and demanding more and more farmers' markets.

"With more and more town support, it definitely makes this process a lot smoother and easier," he said.

Macsuga said 21 new farmers' markets will debut this season, bringing
the total statewide to "a little over 100," with 320 farmers
contributing fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy and other produce.
However, farmers are not the only suppliers to these markets.
Fishermen, bakers and florists also participate, adding variety to the
markets.

The draw of the farmers' market is "the fact that it is local," Macsuga
said, "that the money spent here stays here. There is less of a carbon
footprint and the food travels less miles in order to get here."

Customers at the Fairfield Farmers Market at Greenfield Hills agreed.

"I like the whole ambiance of the farmers' market," said Fairfield resident Art Beagan.

Some just want to help support hometown goods. "I like the idea of
buying local, homegrown products," said P.J. Calyne, of Fairfield, who
was shopping with his wife, April, and two children, Abigail and
Alexandra.

Others have another agenda.

"I like the cookies," said Abigail with a giggle.

Vendors say they most enjoy the one-on-one contact when dealing with buyers of their crops.

"It's great," said Jay Ott, of Vaszauskas Farm in Middlebury, "You get
to really connect with the customers and it adds to the close-knit feel
of being at a farmers' market." Chicken egg vendor Katja Pieragostini
also enjoys the meet-and-greet aspect absent when items are bought in a
grocery store. "The people you meet are the best part of this
experience," said Pieragostini, a Newtown resident and from On the Rock
Farm, also located in Newtown. "They have a genuine appreciation for
fresh, organic products."

John Koizim, owner of Greenfield Liquor Shop, has organized the
Fairfield Farmers Market at Greenfield Hill on Bronson Road for 12
years. He felt the need to establish a market in the area because he
thought it would be "something nice to bring to the neighborhood and
bring more business."

"One day, I looked out at the large, empty space right in front of my
store and thought, what can I do with all this space here?" he said,
referring to the stretch of grass parallel to the Greenfield Hill
parking lot. "I came up with this as a solution."

Koizim said that along with shopping, customers can also enjoy live
entertainment from weekly musicians, with the genre of music ranging
"anything from rock to banjo."

"People have a good time here," he said.

Some vendors feel farmers markets are rising in popularity because of increasing food prices.

"I think people are responding to the economy and, as a result, are
buying more grown products than they used to," said Nancy Moore,
representing Moorefield Herb Farm in Trumbull.

However, not even farmers' market vendors can escape the effects of
inflated food prices. Ron Vancil, of Stamford's Belldotti Bros. Bakery,
said the cost for ingredients has increased tremendously in recent
years.

"The price of flour has tripled and it doesn't seem like it's going
down any time soon," he said. Recently, farmers' markets have begun to
step out from being seasonal events to year-round affairs. From January
to April, the Fairfield Theater Company on Sanford Street hosted the
city's first Winter Farmers Market. Along with the usual staples like
cheeses, greens and eggs, different items such as soaps.